by Lois G. Grambling & illustrated by Susan Havice ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2003
Sun-washed watercolors illuminate this literary tale of Abigail Muchmore and her troubles with Mr. West Wind. In spite of a longstanding friendship, one day Mr. West Wind blows Abigail’s bloomers to Sam Golightly’s farm, her pears onto the Pickerel place, and finally her dog clear into the next country. When she has had enough, Abigail Muchmore takes her lariat in hand and ropes in the mischievous West Wind testing her will against his. The first part of this new tall tale seems rather chaotic and difficult to follow, but the second half shines as Abigail stuffs the wind into her storm cellar and holds the door down, until the wind, who blows long and blows strong, finally declares Abigail Muchmore the winner. After extracting promises from Mr. West Wind to blow her dog back home and not to blow menacingly across her farm in the future, Abigail lets Mr. West Wind out. The wind keeps his promise and all is calm on Abigail’s farm. While this offering from Grambling (The Witch Who Wanted to be a Princess, 2001, etc.) is superior to her earlier titles it will not be a first purchase, though storytellers may want to give it a second look. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-7614-5116-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2003
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by Megan McDonald & illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2012
This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the...
An all-zombie-all-the-time zombiefest, featuring a bunch of grade-school kids, including protagonist Stink and his happy comrades.
This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the streets in the time-honored stiff-armed, stiff-legged fashion. McDonald signals her intent on page one: “Stink and Webster were playing Attack of the Knitting Needle Zombies when Fred Zombie’s eye fell off and rolled across the floor.” The farce is as broad as the Atlantic, with enough spookiness just below the surface to provide the all-important shivers. Accompanied by Reynolds’ drawings—dozens of scene-setting gems with good, creepy living dead—McDonald shapes chapters around zombie motifs: making zombie costumes, eating zombie fare at school, reading zombie books each other to reach the one-million-minutes-of-reading challenge. When the zombie walk happens, it delivers solid zombie awfulness. McDonald’s feel-good tone is deeply encouraging for readers to get up and do this for themselves because it looks like so much darned fun, while the sub-message—that reading grows “strong hearts and minds,” as well as teeth and bones—is enough of a vital interest to the story line to be taken at face value.Pub Date: March 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5692-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
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by Megan McDonald ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
by Megan McDonald & illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
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by Megan McDonald ; illustrated by Scott Nash
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by Megan McDonald ; illustrated by Katherine Tillotson
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by Helen Ketteman & illustrated by James Warhola ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1997
A Cinderella parody features the off-the-wall, whang-dang Texas hyperbole of Ketteman (The Year of No More Corn, 1993, etc.) and the insouciance of Warhola, who proves himself only too capable of creating a fairy godcow; that she's so appealingly whimsical makes it easy to accept the classic tale's inversions. The protagonist is Bubba, appropriately downtrodden and overworked by his wicked stepdaddy and loathsome brothers Dwayne and Milton, who spend their days bossing him around. The other half of the happy couple is Miz Lurleen, who owns ``the biggest spread west of the Brazos.'' She craves male companionship to help her work the place, ``and it wouldn't hurt if he was cute as a cow's ear, either.'' There are no surprises in this version except in the hilarious way the premise plays itself out and in Warhola's delightful visual surprises. When Lurleen tracks the bootless Bubba down, ``Dwayne and Milton and their wicked daddy threw chicken fits.'' Bubba and babe, hair as big as a Texas sun, ride off to a life of happy ranching, and readers will be proud to have been along for the courtship. (Picture book/folklore. 6-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-590-25506-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1997
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by Helen Ketteman ; illustrated by Bonnie Leick
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by Helen Ketteman ; illustrated by Nate Wragg
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by Helen Ketteman ; illustrated by Will Terry
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